By Bobby Narang
One of the top high school pitchers in the country resides roughly 30 miles away from Wrigley Field.
York senior right-hander Ryan Sloan, a Wake Forest University recruit, oozes potential.
At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Sloan buzzes his 98-mile per hour fastball past hitters, or attacks via a biting slider with tremendous break, or tosses a few wrinkles at hitters with his other two pitches.
Sloan’s name is rapidly rising up the charts on the 2024 Major League Baseball draft lists due to his strong repertoire of pitches.
“He’s the number one player in the State and the number one right-handed pitcher in the Country,” York coach Dave Kalal said. “At the freshman point of his high school experience, it was more about gaining that experience and the speed of the game at the varsity level. Over the course of the last few years, he’s been polishing up his mechanics and developing more pitches and working on his poise and moxie on the mound.”
Sloan has proven to be a quick study over the last few seasons. He guided the Dukes to a Class 4A fourth place finish last season – the program’s first state semifinal trip since his father, David, was a catcher on York’s 1993 state team. He finished with a 5-1 record to go with 97 strikeouts and 28 walks in 53 innings, including tossing a no-hitter in an electric performance in a supersectional victory over Rockton Hononegah.
Before he heads off to the next level – in college or major league baseball – Sloan said his main focus is enjoying his final season of high school baseball.
“Becoming a senior is so much fun,” Sloan said. “The pressure is off school-wise. I’m not aiming for an ACT or SAT score anymore. I’m just really going to go out and play baseball with my buddies. It’s super fun. I love baseball. Team-wise, I want to make it back to State.
“We have a really good team, a great pitching staff and offense and defense. We just have to all come together. The State experience last year was so different and fun. It was an opportunity to play with my friends. We all have the same goal. Everyone wants to win.”
Kalal said Sloan possesses the talent, mental makeup, and IQ, to be one of the top pitchers in the history of the State.
“A lot of what has helped me is his work ethic and mental toughness and self-discipline,” Kalal said. “He relied heavily on his parents. He has a heavy influence at home. He’s got a strength and conditioning coach who has helped him grow tremendously and he has gotten more control of his body in terms of cleaning up his mechanics.”
A veteran coach of three-plus decades, Kalal said Sloan is a must-see pitcher for local baseball fans of all levels. Fifty scouts, Kalal said, attended one of Sloan’s first outings this Spring.
“It was a circus, especially in what he showed in two innings of work and also his pregame routine,” Kalal said. “Every time he pitches, it will certainly get bigger with the crowds….Ryan is a once-in-a-lifetime player. He’s going to be a first-round pick. If he stays healthy, there’s no telling what he’s capable of accomplishing.”